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'The Biggest Loser' Winner Patrick House on How Game Play Won the Day

By Paulette Cohn 2:13 PM PST, December 15, 2010

NBC

This season, "The Biggest Loser" winner Patrick House actually placed fourth in percentage of weight loss, but the other three players who had a higher number had all completed their weight loss at home. That said, Patrick, who lost 181 pounds and 45.25% of his body weight, is someone who really needed the $250,000 prize money.

Patrick had been a part of an alliance that included second-place finalist Alfredo "Frado" Dinten and Brendan Donovan and the men pretty much controlled the game by the second half of the season. So when Mark Pinhasovich fell below the yellow line, the alliance took the opportunity to send him home. It was a good move as far as game play was concerned. Mark won the at-home prize of $100,000 with a weight loss of 213 pounds, 50.59 percent of his body weight.

"I went into the whole 'Biggest Loser' scenario with the idea I was just going to workout and not get involved in all that," Patrick tells ETonline. "I quickly realized you need to have friends and you need to have allies who have your back if you are planning on going far in this game. That is what it boils down to in the end: This is a game. Yeah, we are getting our lives back. But at the same time, there is a $250,000 check dangling at the end. Mark just happened to be one of the guys who was in the way of me getting that money for me and my family."

Patrick hasn't worked since January, so the prize money will help his family get back on their feet. But his "Biggest Loser" experience has also led him to a new job offer as a teacher at MindStream Academy, which will open in January 2011 in South Carolina.

"One of the girls who works in marketing at MindStream Academy graduated high school with me," Patrick says. "She approached the owner about having me come and speak to the students when they open in January. Through my talks with the owner, he decided, instead of having me come one time, he wanted to offer me a full-time, long-term commitment position and build part of the program around my experience on 'The Biggest Loser.' It is an opportunity for me to pay it forward by battling the epidemic of childhood obesity."

So, after the first of the year, Patrick will move his family and he says this time when he buys a house, his "Biggest Loser" experience will influence his decision.
"I would like to have a room in South Carolina that could be a gym," he says. When I bought my first house, I wanted a room where I could have a pool table and bar and a patio for a grill, but now my tastes in home shopping have changed."

The new season of "The Biggest Loser" premieres Tuesday, January 4 on NBC.